GOP Senators Give Hope to Anti-Obama Activists, Walk Fine Line with Conspiracy Theorist Constituents

[babylonsister]

GOP Senators Give Hope to Anti-Obama Activists
Lawmakers Walk Fine Line with Conspiracy Theorist Constituents
By David Weigel 1/8/09 6:00 AM


President-elect Barack Obama’s victory on November 4 launched a crowd-sourced, talk radio-driven effort on the far right: a campaign to deny him the White House by legal means. Prodded by conservative outlets like Plains Radio, WorldNetDaily, and the nationally syndicated Michael Savage, fringe activists began asking Electoral College voters, Supreme Court justices, and members of Congress to disqualify the president-elect based on conspiracy theories about his place of birth and his father’s Kenyan citizenship.

The efforts have failed so far, but activists contacting Republican members of Congress are holding out hope that at least one member of the House or Senate will challenge the certification of President-elect Obama’s 365-173 Electoral College win on Thursday. Any member can protest, but it takes a senator’s protest to delay the ceremony for debate. The activists’ hope relies on friendly letters from Republican members who appeared to have researched their claims and given them consideration. That, according to Republican staffers, is a mistaken reading of the letters. But as they’re written, the letters give Obama opponents some credit for their interest, and promises — however earnestly — that they won’t forget about the issue.

“Thank you for contacting me with concerns about President-elect Barack Obama’s citizenship status,” wrote the office of David Vitter (R-Louisiana) to one request. “I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.”

The Vitter letter reads in large part like a brush-off, explaining that “Hawaii state officials have verified that President-elect Obama was born in Honolulu on August 4, 1961, making him a natural born citizen.” It ends with Vitter pledging to “continue to monitor this situation and any cases on this matter in our courts.”

That’s a bit more ground than other members of the Senate gave to the conspiracy theorists. A review of a dozen such responses which have been posted on anti-Obama websites and whose validity has been confirmed by Capitol Hill staffers, show that most members opted for sensitive ways to say “thanks, but you’re wrong.”

more...

http://washingtonindependent.com/24362/gop-senators-letters-give-anti-obama-activists-hope

[cali]

1. actually, it wasn't radio driven. Plains radio is some internet radio program

All the biggies have steered clear of this. Not even Hannity or Rush will touch it.

[PatGund]

6. And Plains Radio's biggest pimp of this subject....

IS Ed "Bugs" Hale, who recently admitted he was the one who called Art Bell's "Coast to Coast" years ago and claimed he shot two Bigfoots (bigfeet?) down in Texas. He also claimed the government came and took the bones away.

[FLAprogressive]

2. I doubt that even Inhofe or Coburn will go along with this shit. nt

[PatGund]

7. They didn't....

There were a lot of claims from the Birthers that Inhofe would, but as evidenced from the certification yesterday, they didn't.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I think the clock has run out on these bastards...

I mean, give it a rest already!

:eyes:

[stillcool]

4. wouldn't that be a hoot...

[PatGund]

5. Bear in mind....

That NONE of their "Great White Hopes" spoke against the certification yesterday. Not even Ron Paul, who a lot of the Birthers were convinced would.

Not only that, two cases were dismissed yesterday, Schneller v. Cortes by Justice Souter, and Broe v Reed by the Washington State Supreme Court. Berg v Obama was scheduled for conference #1 today, and does not appear on the list of writs granted in conference. Usually the official confirmation of dismissal is on monday.

Berg gets a second conference on the 16th, and Lightfoot v Bowen, (by the utterly insane lawyer/dentist Orly Taitz), is on the 23rd. Taitz is telling all her followers to bombard the Supreme Court to move her case up to before Obama is sworn in.

[babylonsister]

8. Denial is a strange thing, isn't it. nt

[John Q. Citizen]

9. That's what it is exactly. They know bush was il-legit, and they are dying to equivocate. but we

overwhelmed them, and they are desperate.

[damntexdem]

10. If some GOP senator wants to sign his political death warrant.

I doubt that any will try it -- but then, we do know that there are a lot of fools among them.